Informal traders are now only starting to see their businesses recover from the Covid-19 lockdown effects of 2020 and 2021.
This according to a local informal trader’s forum known as the Tshwane Barekisi Forum.
“After we struggled to make a profit for several months as a result of the lockdown, we are breathing a sigh of relief,” the secretary of Tshwane Barekisi, Mary Ngema, told Rekord.
“Cash flow of many of our businesses has slightly begun to improve.”
Ngema said although the President Cyril Ramaphosa made the lockdown announcement with the intention to save lives, it became a nightmare for informal traders, such as herself, who were unable to support their families.
“It was difficult for the entire families to sleep on empty stomachs for several days and we feared that we would die of hunger.”
She said several attempts to save their businesses by increasing revenue had failed.
“Our businesses were on the verge of collapsing and we did not know what to do.”
Ngema said she was proud of the cash flow improvement this past year.
She said the situation was better as more people were working in their workplaces again, after they had been working from home for a long time.
“Looking from my business income perspective I believe 2022 will be a prosperous years.”
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She said the development of her business was important as she was working on formalising it to stop trading in the street and start paying tax.
Another informal trader Christina Makhubela shared Ngema’s sentiments.
She said her current business performed better than last year and the previous year.
“It basically depends on the type of business you are running. As results of several factors involved, some businesses are doing better than others but the overall situation has improved and we are grateful for that,” Makhubela said.
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